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Fans check out activity in the garage area before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Darlington Raceway, Sunday, May 9, 2021, in Darlington, S.C. It is the first time this year that fans are allowed back in the garage area. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)
Column: NASCAR starting to allow access a year after restart

By Jenna Fryer May. 10, 2021 04:59 PM EDT

FILE - In this April 25, 1997, file photo, John Andretti, left, grins as his wife Nancy hugs his father Aldo after the younger Andretti won the pole for the Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala. Mario Andretti feels the same pain as so many others these days. His wife died two years ago, long before the pandemic. And his beloved nephew John lost a brutal battle with colon cancer. But then COVID-19 claimed his twin brother Aldo and one of the greatest racers of all time is not immune from the loneliness and depression sweeping the world. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)
Andretti navigates personal loss, loneliness of pandemic

By Jenna Fryer Apr. 19, 2021 07:13 PM EDT

Darlington Raceway's spring race will be called Goodyear 400

Apr. 14, 2021 10:59 AM EDT
DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) — Darlington Raceway has partnered with tire manufacturer Goodyear to sponsor its spring NASCAR Cup Series event next month. ...

FILE - Jimmie Johnson speaks about joining the team of Chip Ganassi for the IndyCar series at a press conference during the IndyCar race weekend in St. Petersburg, Fla., in this Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020, file photo. Jimmie Johnson, with wisps of gray in his beard, is a 45-year-old rookie in the IndyCar Series ready to reintroduce himself. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson, File)
Jimmie Johnson ditches vanilla label during IndyCar debut

By Jenna Fryer Apr. 13, 2021 04:21 PM EDT

FILE - Jimmie Johnson speaks about joining the team of Chip Ganassi for the IndyCar series at a press conference during the IndyCar race weekend in St. Petersburg, Fla., in this Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020, file photo. Jimmie Johnson, with wisps of gray in his beard, is a 45-year-old rookie in the IndyCar Series ready to reintroduce himself. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson, File)
Jimmie Johnson ditches vanilla label during IndyCar debut

By Jenna Fryer Apr. 13, 2021 04:10 PM EDT

FILE - Santino Ferrucci drives into turn one during the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, in this Sunday, Aug. 23, 2020, file photo. Ferrucci has landed a ride for the Indianapolis 500 with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. The team finished first and third in last year's race with Takuma Sato and Graham Rahal, while Ferrucci was fourth. Now RLL will return to Indy with a driver lineup that claimed three of the top four spots a year ago.(AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)
Ferrucci lands Indy 500 seat with defending winner Rahal

By Jenna Fryer Apr. 05, 2021 12:31 PM EDT

Race leader Noah Gragson (9) limps along the track after having made contact with David Starr with two laps to go in a NASCAR Xfinity Series auto race, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021, in Homestead, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Column: Love him or hate him, Gragson has NASCAR talking

By Jenna Fryer Mar. 22, 2021 06:56 PM EDT

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Willy Boly, left, heads the ball away from Liverpool's Mohamed Salah during the English Premier League soccer match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Liverpool at Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton, England, Monday, March. 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Paul Ellis,Pool)
LeBron James becomes partner in group that owns Red Sox

By Tim Reynolds Mar. 16, 2021 06:17 PM EDT

In this undated image provided by Ethel M Chocolates, a delivery truck is seen outside the Ethel M Chocolates building in Henderson, Nev. NASCAR driver Kyle Busch first went to the Ethel M candy factory with his grandmother. It wasn’t a tourist stop to the young Busch, it was a candy store and his grandmother let him roam the cactus garden and rewarded him with the craft chocolates. It comes full circle Sunday at home track Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Ethel M is part of the Mars Corp., the longtime sponsor of Busch’s team. Busch will feature the brand on his car in Sunday’s race. (Ethel M Chocolates via AP)
Busch and Mars hearken childhood memories at Las Vegas

By Jenna Fryer Mar. 06, 2021 05:58 PM EST

Raphael Lessard (24) beats the field to the line to win the first stage during a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series auto race Friday, Feb. 12, 2021, at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Camping World helps cash-strapped teams make it to Las Vegas

By Jenna Fryer Mar. 04, 2021 06:10 PM EST

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) runs past Tampa Bay Buccaneers inside linebacker Lavonte David (54) during the first half of an NFL divisional round playoff football game, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
NFL's Kamara races into NASCAR as a team sponsor at Daytona

By Jenna Fryer Feb. 19, 2021 05:11 PM EST

Michael McDowell celebrates after winning the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Daytona 500 win lands McDowell more sponsorship money

By Jenna Fryer Feb. 19, 2021 12:47 PM EST

Roush Fenway becomes 1st carbon neutral NASCAR team

By Jenna Fryer Feb. 18, 2021 08:00 AM EST
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Roush Fenway Racing set a goal to reduce its carbon footprint even as it raced a pair of gas-guzzling cars all across the country. ...

FILE - In this July 5, 2015, file photo, race fans make a photo with a Confederate flag in the Fan Zone before a NASCAR Sprint Cup series auto race at Daytona International Speedway. in Daytona Beach, Fla. A predominantly white sport with deep Southern roots and a longtime embrace of Confederate symbols, NASCAR was forced last summer to face its own checkered racial history during the country’s social unrest. (AP Photo/Terry Renna, File)
Social justice at NASCAR's forefront as new season begins

By Jenna Fryer Feb. 13, 2021 04:59 PM EST

FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2019, file photo, team owner Rick Hendrick laughs on pit road during qualifying for the Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, in Daytona Beach, Fla. Kyle Larson was banished from NASCAR for all but the first month of his last season, his punishment for using a racial slur while racing online. Rick Hendrick felt the driver paid his penalty and deserved a second chance, one that begins with the season-opening Daytona 500. (AP Photo/Terry Renna, File)
Larson grateful for 2nd chance in NASCAR after racial slur

By Jenna Fryer Feb. 08, 2021 04:51 PM EST

Hendrick signs 2 sponsors for Kyle Larson's return to NASCAR

By Jenna Fryer Feb. 02, 2021 02:43 PM EST
Hendrick Motorsports signed its first two sponsors for Kyle Larson, a promising sign as the driver attempts to rebuild his image after his use of a racial slur...

St. Louis Blues center Jordan Kyrou (25) and Vegas Golden Knights center Jonathan Marchessault (81) vie for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
The Latest: Flames temporarily relocating AHL team to Canada

By The Associated Press Jan. 28, 2021 02:47 PM EST

FILE - In this Aug. 8, 2017, file photo, Peter Bevacqua, then CEO of the PGA of America, speaks during a news conference at the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C. NBC will shut down the NBC Sports Network at the end of the year. NBC Sports Chairman Bevacqua announced the move Friday, Jan. 22, 2021, in an internal memo to staff. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)
NBC to shut down NBC Sports Network at end of 2021

By Joe Reedy Jan. 22, 2021 03:20 PM EST

FILE - Ty Dillon during fist bumps with fans during driver introductions prior to the NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Ariz., in this Sunday, March 8, 2020, file photo. Ty Dillon landed a Daytona 500 ride with Gaunt Brothers Racing in a pairing of a driver and team both trying to rebuild in 2021. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso, File)
Dillon lands Daytona 500 ride with rebuilding Gaunt Brothers

By Jenna Fryer Jan. 19, 2021 11:09 AM EST

Cleveland Browns defensive end Olivier Vernon is helped off the field after an injury during the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane, File)
Browns place Vernon on IR, 2 players cited for drag racing

By Tom Withers Jan. 05, 2021 09:07 PM EST